Information Literacy Commons^™

Traditional Vs. Flipped Library Instruction For The Life Sciences, Michael C. Goates, Megan Frost, Gregory M. Nelson

Faculty Publications

We compared search statement development between traditional lecture and flipped instruction sessions using two separate flipped models. Students in lecture sessions scored significantly higher on developing search statements than those in the flipped model 1 sessions. However, student scores were not significantly different between the lecture and the flipped model 2 sessions. Reasons for lower flipped-session scores may include a lack of student accountability, strong preference for a live demonstration, and disconnections between online tutorial content and in-class collaborative activities. Students in all sessions expressed a strong preference for pedagogies that incorporate elements from both lecture and flipped methodologies. Librarians …

Objective Research? Information Literacy Instruction Perspectives, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

Common understandings of “objective” research include values such as “factual” and “interpretive neutrality”. There is a growing consensus that the person, the “subject”, doing the research counts as much as if not more in the interpretive outcomes than the “facts” alone, and that “interpretive neutrality” is not possible.

The presentation offers an alternative framing of “objective research” as the grounded, intentional and savvy analysis of an “object” in conversation with a community of peers/experts for the purpose of creating knowledge.

Following Ferraris’ ontology, three classes of “objects” exist (1) Natural objects: exist whether or not a person notices them. Example: …

Eyes Toward The Future: Framing For-Credit Information Literacy Instruction, Emily P. Frank, Amanda B. Macdonald

Faculty Publications

LSU Libraries recently redesigned its one-credit hour information literacy course taught by librarians for undergraduate students. This redesign coincided with a shift from face-to-face to online course delivery at a local level alongside the implementation of the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) on undergraduate research that would lead to increased course enrollment at the university level. At the national level, there was a transition to ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Framework). The Libraries’ Instruction Committee engaged in a holistic reconceptualization of the course, beginning with debating and designing new student learning outcomes (SLOs) and attributes before considering …

Scavenging For Research Ingredients, Jessica Hronchek

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Information Literacy Imperative In Higher Education, Todd J. Wiebe

Faculty Publications

This article contends that information literacy should be considered a standard component in a 21st century liberal education. It explores the role of libraries and librarians within this context while contrasting the "Google it" mentality with deep researching and critical thinking about information and the information-seeking process, both in libraries and in the free online environment.

From Co-Location To Collaboration: Working Together To Improve Student Learning, Susan Montgomery, Suzanne D. Robertshaw

Faculty Publications

An academic librarian and the coordinator of a campus tutoring and writing center recently relocated to the library researched their value to second-year students. Differences in the amount and type of available data called for conducting in-depth interviews with students about their research and writing processes. The researchers also reviewed relevant material regarding similar collaborative efforts at other college and universities. The gaps revealed in the environmental scan along with the best practices of librarian/writing center collaboration helped determine future steps needed for both units to move from mere co-location to working in true collaboration.

Using Student Performance To Evaluate An Online Tutorial: Is Flipping Really Worth It?, Michael C. Goates, Gregory M. Nelson

Faculty Publications

How effective are online tutorials at providing library instruction? Are students really getting as much out of these tutorials as we think they are? What advantages, if any, do students and librarians gain from incorporating online tutorials into information literacy sessions? This presentation will describe a study comparing two library instruction models for an undergraduate advanced writing course at Brigham Young University. The first model follows a traditional instruction session while the second model uses a flipped classroom approach to deliver instruction in the form of an online tutorial. Results from student assignments, evaluations, and focus groups will be discussed …

The Flipped Classroom For Library Instruction: A Student Focused Assessment, Michael C. Goates

Faculty Publications

Librarians at Brigham Young University conducted an assessment to evaluate student performance in developing effective search strategies between flipped classroom and traditional library instruction models. In the flipped classroom model, students completed an interactive online tutorial prior to attending a face-to-face instruction session in the library. During the face-to-face session, students collaborated on projects designed to reinforce concepts explained in the online tutorial. In this presentation, participants will learn about the history of the flipped classroom teaching model for library instruction. Next, the presenter will explain the process of developing a flipped library instruction session for undergraduate students in the …

Pausing At The Threshold, Patrick K. Morgan

Faculty Publications

Threshold concepts are increasingly inescapable at library conferences and in general information literacy discourse, and this visibility will likely only increase as they figure so prominently in the Association of College and Research Libraries inchoate Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Nevertheless, very little has been done to critically consider the wider intellectual ramifications of certain assumptions fundamental to their manifestation in library/information literacy instruction. This paper is an initial attempt to promote such discussions.

Library Tour Evolution: Analog, Digital, Mobile, Michael J. Whitchurch

Faculty Publications

Evolution is a progressive change from something inadequate in a given circumstance or environment to a new or modified state with the ability to perform better in that new environment or situation. Evolution occurs in organizations, organisms and processes. One aspect of evolution is the ‘survival of the fittest’ which is that the most adept at survival will continue and propagate. In technology it is much the same as one technology becomes obsolete (dies), it gives way to the next better able to serve. For examples consider the cassette tape or the LP record and their demise. Often technology changes …

A Qualitative Examination About Providers’ Perceptions And Recommendations Regarding The Role Of Public Librarians In Addressing Communities’ Health Literacy., Van Ta Park, Lili Luo, Denise Rosidi

Faculty Publications

We assessed health care providers’ perspectives on libraries as a source of health information and elicited input on how to adequately prepare public librarians to provide health information services. Sample text-based reference transactions were shown to determine whether they think the health inquiries were adequately answered. Results showed that participants had favorable perspectives about public libraries, and thought that the public librarians’ role includes addressing the health literacy community needs. Participants provided recommendations for public librarians to improve health literacy. To enhance the ability of public librarians to meet the health literacy needs of their communities, diverse perspectives such as …

Evolution Of The One-Shot Library Instruction Session, Michael C. Goates

Faculty Publications

The one-shot library instruction session is a balancing act between faculty expectations and student attention spans. Concerned with limited instruction time, many teaching faculty request that librarians relay as much information as possible during a single instruction session. Students, however, quickly experience information overload and disengagement during information-heavy instruction sessions. Determining what information to present and how to present it can be a challenge for many librarians. This workshop will address some of the varying methodologies to one-shot library instruction, including the flipped-classroom. Examples of library instruction models will also be shared, highlighting both successful and less-effective approaches.

Text 4 Health: Addressing Consumer Health Information Needs Via Text Reference Service, Van M. Ta Park

Faculty Publications

This study seeks to provide empirical evidence about how health-related questions are answered in text reference service in order to further the understanding of how to best use texting as a reference service venue to fulfill people’s health information needs. Two hundred health reference transactions from My Info Quest, the first nation-wide collaborative text reference service, were analyzed identify the types of questions, length of transactions, question-answering behavior, and information sources used in the transactions. Findings indicate that texting-based health reference transactions are usually brief, and cover a wide variety of topics. The most popular questions are those seeking general …

The Data/Information/Knowledge/Wisdom Hierarchy Goes To Seminary, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

In Information Science studies, the Data/Information/Knowledge/Wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy is a conventional construct for making sense of the terms. However, when examined with any rigor, the distinctions become challenged and the hierarchy appears to fail. I suggest that the reason for this is the tacit classification of this hierarchy as a disciplinary ontological narrative. With context-appropriate definitions and delimitations, the DIKW hierarchy can still be useful as a model for specific applications in information literacy pedagogy. This is illustrated in the context of theological education by using the construct to differentiate the identification of primary sources in the Seminary disciplines.

The Postmodern Shift In Library Instruction, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

Fifty years ago, prior to the digital revolution, library instruction consisted of a knowledgeable librarian guiding students through the various classes of documents, with examples of recognized authorities. Each bibliographic tool was handcrafted by competent individuals, published by reputable publishers, and recommended by disciplinary practitioners. While working through these various tools was time consuming, and getting access to materials not held locally often proved slow, the student researcher could reasonably assume the sincerity and integrity of the sources. With the digital revolution, much has changed. Now, instead of bibliographic instruction, librarians engage in “information literacy”(IL) training. Rather than point students …

Books And Websites, E-Journals Or Print: If The Source Fits, Use It, Todd J. Wiebe

Faculty Publications

Despite the ever-growing range of media types, formats, and information-access options, students are often instructed to only use specific sources in their research. They are sometimes even given strict guidelines, prescribing how many of each they need to, or may, cite. It is important not to lead students to believe there is a formula for the ideal works cited for all research topics. In contrast, students should learn to think critically about the content and appropriateness of each potential source rather than choosing it only because it is a book, a journal article, a Website, etc. This article argues that …

Important Information Literacy Standards For Life And Health Sciences, Betsy S. Hopkins

Faculty Publications

Information literacy in the life and health sciences is a dynamic field, with challenges, opportunities, and rewards for the successful practitioner. This chapter will describe the big picture of information literacy in these disciplines, list relevant performance indicators from the ALA/ACRL/STS Task Force on Information Literacy for Science and Technology [STS-TFILST] (2006) Information Literacy Standards for Science and Technology (hereafter Standards), and give some practical advice for life and health sciences librarians and librarians with instructional responsibilities in those disciplines. The focus is on undergraduates at research universities, although many principles and strategies will apply to other circumstances.

The Impact Of Computer Literacy And Library Anxiety On Students' Library Experience, Terry Dwain Robertson, Lauren Matacio

Faculty Publications

Despite growing up with technology, are college freshmen well prepared for library research, or does their computer savvy actually put them at a disadvantage? Do other factors such as library anxiety affect students’ research experience? How can secondary educators better prepare their students for the leap from a small school library to a large college or university library? How can college librarians make new students’ first library experience a positive one? These questions are addressed in this article.

“Google Reigns Triumphant”?: Stemming The Tide Of Googlitis Via Collaborative, Situated Information Literacy Instruction, Carol A. Leibiger

Faculty Publications

Googlitis, the over-reliance on search engines for research and the resulting development of poor searching skills, is a recognized problem among today’s students. Google is not an effective research tool because, in addition to encouraging keyword searching at the expense of more powerful subject searching, it only accesses the Surface Web and is driven by advertising. American higher education unwittingly fosters the use of search engines in research by emphasizing results rather than process. Academic librarians emulate teaching faculty in their reliance on lectures, and their course-related instruction is limited in its effectiveness because it is constrained to one-shot, lecture-driven …

“Google Reigns Triumphant”?: Stemming The Tide Of Googlitis Via Collaborative, Situated Information Literacy Instruction, Carol A. Leibiger

Faculty Publications

Googlitis, the overreliance on search engines for research and the resulting development of poor searching skills, is a recognized problem among today’s students. Google is not an effective research tool because, in addition to encouraging keyword searching at the expense of more powerful subject searching, it only accesses the Surface Web and is driven by advertising. American higher education unwittingly fosters the use of search engines in research by emphasizing results rather than process. Academic librarians emulate teaching faculty in their reliance on lectures, and their course-related instruction is limited in its effectiveness because it is constrained to one-shot, lecture-driven …

An ‘Information Literacy’ Perspective Of The Creation/Evolution Debate, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

The conventional information literacy standards do not suffice for engaging the creation/evolution debate. The data is inconclusive about which approach is more likely; neither theory can be validated any more than the other. Both theories appeal to a recognized authority.

Situated Practices Of Information Use And Representation: An Ethnographic Study Of A Web Design Project For Boys, Kristen Rebmann

Faculty Publications

This article explores the production practices employed by children building personal webpages in a semi-structured afterschool program: the Fifth Dimension (5D). Following a critical Multiliteracies (CritMLs) approach to learning design, this ethnographic study introduced web-building practices to the children of the 5D and followed their production of personal webpages over a 9 month period. By structuring the intervention this way, it was possible to simultaneously observe the development of both the webpage as artifact as well as the child-participant. Along these lines, the study describes the unique and particular social contexts from which personal webpages emerge and develop over time. …

Supporting Youth Boundary Crossing: Intertextuality As A Component Of Design For Information And Visual Literacy, Kristen Rebmann (Clark)

Faculty Publications

This article charts attempts to derive a theoretically guided approach to engaging children in boundary crossing toward literacies and practices associated with the Age of Information. Using Fifth Dimension (5D) afterschool programs as laboratories for informal learning design, interventions were designed to explore the extent to which youth cultures and literacies can be used as intertextual gateways to more educative practices associated with visual and information literacy. Intertextuality is introduced as a concept to consider the relevance of using semantic relationships between popular and educative texts to inform learning design for afterschool programming.

An Evaluation Of An Upper-Division, General Education Information Literacy Program, Elizabeth S. Hopkins, Suzanne Julian

Faculty Publications

The Advanced Writing library instruction program at Brigham Young University's Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is intended to teach junior-level students advanced information literacy and research skills. The university general education curriculum requires students to participate in the program as part of their Advanced Writing course. When anecdotal feedback from librarians and students identified problems with the program, the authors conducted a qualitative evaluation of the program in order to identify problems and possible solutions. The evaluation included a student survey and focus groups with students, librarians, and English faculty. This paper describes the HBLL Advanced Writing instruction program, identifies …

Clicking Your Way To Library Instruction Assessment: Using A Personal Response System At Brigham Young University, Suzanne Julian, Kimball Benson

Faculty Publications

An assessment of the use of a Personal Response System (clickers) during library instruction sessions. A discussion on the use of clickers as a method of assessing student learning.

Academic Writing And Theological Inquiry, Terry Dwain Robertson

Faculty Publications

A comparison of two approaches to academic writing and research pedagogies demonstrates that, for Vyhmeister, truth is to be found outside and above us--it is a process of discovery, while Hamilton's approach focuses on the spiritual formation of the writer and can be understood as reflecting a process of spiritual growth. A third approach, which I develop in this article, views academic writing and theological inquiry as a ministry, in which the writer is served by and, in turn, serves the community of faith for the purpose of building a corporate knowledge of God. Research is service and the dissemination …

Utilizing Focus Groups To Evaluate An Information Literacy Program In A General Biology Course, Betsy S. Hopkins

Faculty Publications

The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University (BYU) recently implemented a number of information literacy strategies to help students in Biology 100, a large general education class, find resources for their term assignment. The library's services for Biology 100 students were evaluated using focus groups composed of both teaching assistants and students. This paper will describe the class and the assignment, discuss the impact the class had on library staff, detail the efforts of the staff to meet the needs of Biology 100 students, and present results of focus groups used to evaluate the library's outreach and teaching …

Librarians As Disciplinary Discourse Mediators: Using Genre Theory To Move Toward Critical Information Literacy, Michelle H. Simmons

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

In The Trenches: Transferring User Skills From School To College And Beyond, Diane Duesterhoeft

Faculty Publications

For those of us who work with college and university students in our libraries, we sometimes wonder, "Don't these students learn anything about using a library in high school? If they do, they don't seem to retain what they've learned!" And those of us who work with high school students wonder, "Don't these students learn anything about using the library in middle school or elementary school?" and on it goes! We know from our own experiences or from discussions with library colleagues working in elementary schools that librarians devote an extensive amount of time teaching elementary age students information literacy …

Psychology And Counseling Library Research Guide, Margaret Sylvia

Faculty Publications

This document is a guide for library research in psychology or counseling. The first section discusses how to do research in the library, including choosing a topic, beginning with books, updating the information with journals, checking out books, interlibrary loan, visiting other libraries, and writing the paper. The second section provides sources of general information on psychology. The third section provides an annotated bibliography of additional research resources. The fourth section contains guide to the writing of psychology research papers and the fifth section contains miscellaneous resources such as those on professional training and careers, statistics, dictionaries, and biographical resources.